Spouts combined with containers



May 13, 1958 R. NYDEN SPOUTS COMBINED wm: CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 31, 1956 INVENTOR. ROBERT NYDEN, flaw/L a QTTO RNEY United States Patent D sPoUTs (COMBINED WITH CONTAINERS Robert N'yden, Manhass'et,. N. Y. Application January 31 1956, Serial No. 562,395 Claims. tot. zzz- -sea).

This invention relates to a container of rigid material, such as sheet metal, for containing a liquid, such as lubricating oil or lighter fluid, and having an outwardly extending neck in the top wall of' the container, and a spout permanently attached to the container neck and of relatively hard plastic material.

It has been previously attempted to produce this combination of container and spout by providing a spout having a base portion to engage over an outwardly extending neck in the topwall of a container and securing the spout to said neck by a lateral ridge on the inside of the spout base engaged in a groove in the outer wall of the container neck. In this type of construction, the ridge of the spout base is readily disengaged from the container neck groove, which will permit tampering with, the contents of the container.

Another attempt to provide a leak-proof and tamperproof combination of a container and a spout consisted of inserting a spout base portion in a containerne'ck and rolling the extremity of the container neck over the spout base portion. In this type of construction, the contents of the container would seep between the spout base portion andthe container neck and cause an accumulation of the seepage on the top wall of the container.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the previous attempts to solve this problem of providing a leak-proof and tamper-proof combinat-ion of a container and a spout by producing a spout of a material which is softer than the material of the container whereby the spout is readily" forced into a leakproof and tamper-proof connection with the container neck, so that a lateral flexing of the spout or a longitudi-- nal pulling of the spout will only tighten said connection.

It is another object of the invention to eliminate the use of a sealing compound.

It is another object of the invention to provide the container neck with a constricted throat portion and the spout with a cup-shaped base portion having an intermediate thin wall section and a tubular portion forming an annular well in the base portion, whereby a tool is inserted in said well to assemble the spout in the container neck, the thin wall section of the spout base portion is readily flexed around the constricted throat portion of the container neck to form a leak-proof and tamper-proof seal, the spout tubular portion is laterally flexed and longitudinally pulled without disturbing theleak-proof and tamper-proof seal, said lateral flexing and longitudinal pulling tightening said seal, and the well provides a depository for any of the container contents flowing down the outside of the spout tubular portion which will normally accumulate on the container top wall.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a second seal between the container neck and the spout base portion by compressing an annular top section of the spout base portion in an annular shoulder portion of the "container neck.

2,834,521 l atented May 13, 1958 Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description of the invention.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this application:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a container provided with the embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical-sectional view, onan enlarged scale, of the upper portion of the container taken on the vertical center of the container looking at the left hand side of the container shown in Figure 1 with a spout in vertical section and in position to be assembled in a neck of the container to show the condition of the spout before assembly;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows to show the spout assembled in the container neck; and

Figure 4 is a view' similar to Figure 3 showing a tool in spout assembling position.

The embodiment of the invention comprises a container body 5 closed at the bottom by a wall' crimped at the marginal portion to the bottom edge of the body, as shown at 6 in Figure 1. The top of the container body 5 is closed by a wall 7 crimped at the marginal portion to the top edge of the body, as shown at 8. The center portion of the top wall 7 is arranged with a discharge opening 9 provided with an outwardly extending neck including a base portion 10 tapering from the opening 9 and integral .with the top wall 7 with the top of the base portion 10 forming. an, intermediate constricted throat portion 11. An annular wall top section 12 extending in a plane parallel to the vertical axis of the container body is connected to the constricted throat portion 11 by a horizontal wall 13. The annular wall 12 and the horizontal wall 13 constitute a top shoulder portion in the containe neck. The container and neck are formed of a stifiand hard material, such as sheet metal. The container neck is usually circular but may be of any other suitable shape.

The container is particularly adapted to contain lubricating oil or a lighter fluid, and to facilitate the discharge of the contents through the opening 9, the container neck 10-13 is provided with a spout of resilient material softer than the material of the container and its neck, such as polyethylene. Said spout comprises a cup-shaped base portion having a bottom section 14 of a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the constricted throat portion 11 and to facilitate passage of the bottom section 14 through the constricted throat portion 11, the bottom section 14 is arranged with a vertical outer wall 15. The outer surface of an intermediate section adjacent to the bottom section 14' of the spout base portion is of bulbous form, as shown at 16 in Figure 2, and its minimum outer diameter is larger than the inner diameter of the constricted throat portion 11. Above the bulbous section 16, the diameter of the spout base portion is enlarged to form a top shoulder section having a vertical outer wall 17 and a horizontal wall 18 connecting the outer wall 17 with the bulbous section 16. The outer diameter of the top shoulder section 17, 18 is slightly greater than the inner diameter of the shoulder portion wall 12 of the container neck, so that when said shoulder section 17, I8 is engaged in the shoulder portion 12', 13, the shoulder section 17, 18 is compressed. In the fully assembled position of the spout in the container neck, the horizontal wall 18 of the spout base portion will abut the horizontal wall 13 of the container neck. To facilitate the engagement of the spout shoulder section 17, 18 in the container neck shoulder portion 12, 13, the juncture between the vertical wall 17 and the horizontal-wall 18 is rounded, as shown at 19. The wall of the bulbous section 16 is approximately half the thickness of the walls of the bottom section 14 and of the top section wall 17, and the thickness of the walls of the bottom section 14 and the top section 17 are approximately the same, so that the bulbous section 16 is readily flexed. The spout base portion will conform to the shape of the container neck which is round in the present illustration. Integral with the bottom section 14 of the spout base portion, there is provided a tubular portion 20 having an outer diameter less than the inner diameter of the cup-shaped base and extended upwardly from the bottom section 14 and through the open end of the spout base portion for any desired distance. The inner faces of the base sections 14, 16 and 17 are straight and form with the tubular portion 20, a well 21 in the spout base portion. The purposes of this well 21 will be described hereinafter. The bore of the tubular portion 20 is extended through the bottom section 14 to form a discharge outlet 22 for the contents of the container. The extremity or upper end portion of the tubular portion 20 and the bore thereof are reduced in diameter, as shown at 23, and the bore is initially closed by a transverse wall having a thin portion, as shown at 24, to be punctured by a pin when it is desired to place the container in condition for use. A closure cap 25 is initially engaged on the reduced extremity 23 before the spout is assembled in the container neck, and therefore it is necessary for the maximum outer diameter of said closure cap not to be any greater than the maximum outer diameter of the tubular portion 20 so as not to interfere with an assembling tool to be described hereinafter. The tubular portion 20 is shown as tapering from the bottom base section 14 to the extremity 23, but the tubular portion may be of uniform diameter from the bottom base section 14 to the extremity 23.

In assembling the spout in the container neck, the bottom section 14 is engaged in the constricted throat portion 11 with the bulbous section 16 abutting said throat portion. Then a downward pressure is applied simultaneously to the upper end of the spout shoulder section wall 17 and to the upper end of the bottom section 14 which is the bottom wall of the well 21, whereby the bulbous section 16 is flexed around the constricted throat portion 11 of the container neck. The well 21 will permit the flexing of the bulbous section 16 around the constricted throat portion 11. Due to the inherent characteristic of the material of the spout, such as polyethylene, to assume its original condition, the bulbous section 16 will tightly engage around the constricted throat portion 11 and wedge the spout base portion in the container neck to form a liquid-tight and tamper-proof seal. downward pressure applied to the bottom section 14 and the top section 17 will also compress the shoulder section 17, 18 into the shoulder portion 12, 13 to form a second liquid-tight seal between the container neck and the spout base portion. Flexing of the tubular portion 20 in a lateral direction will not loosen the spout base portion in the container neck, but will have a tendency to place a tension on the lower part of the bulbous section 16 against the lower part of the constricted throat portion 11. Downward pressure on the tubular portion 20 will not loosen the spout base portion in the container neck, but will have a tendency to tighten the engagement between the walls 13 and 18 and urge the bulbous section 16 against the constricted throat portion 11. An upward pull on the spout tubular portion 20 will not remove the spout base portion from the container neck as said pull flexes the bottom section 14 outwardly against tapering base portion 10 of the container neck. The top section wall 17 is of greater length than the neck Wall 12 and during the compressing of the top section 17, 18 into the shoulder portion 12, 13, the upper part of the top section wall' 17 will expand laterally over the top edge of the shoulder portion wall 12 whereby it is not possible to insert'any instrurnent between the top section wall 17 and the shoulder portion wall 12 to ply the spout base portion The r 4 loose from the container neck. Due to the resiliency of the spout base portion, the downward pressure applied thereto in assembling the spout in the container neck will not collapse the container top wall 7.

Figure 4 illustrates one method of simultaneously applying a downward pressure on the bottom section 14 and the top section wall 17. This method consists in providing a plunger having a tubular portion 26 to slide longitudinally of the exterior of the tubular spout portion 20 into the Well 21 and against the spout base bottom section 14 and a lateral shoulder 27 to engage the end of the top section wall 17 simultaneously with the engagement of the tubular portion 26 with the bottom section 14. The plunger tubular portion 26 is of a thickness that will not interfere with the flexing of the bulbous section 16.

When the contents of the container is lubricating oil, said oil will have a tendency to flow down the outside of the spout tubular portion 20 when the container is positioned in upright position after use. Said overflow of oil will accumulate in the well 21 instead of on the container top wall 7.

It will be readily understood that the spout, as hereinbefore described, can be assembled in a container neck which does not include the tapering base portion 10. That is, the restricted throat portion 11 may be directly connected to the top wall 7 to extend in the horizontal plane of said top wall 7.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A spout of resilient material comprising a cupshaped base portion having an opening through the center of the bottom wall of the base portion, and a tubular portion having a maximum outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the base portion and integral with and terminating at the bottom wall of the base portion with the .bore of the tubular portion communicating with the opening in the bottom wall of the base portion and extended centrally of the base portion and beyond the open end of the base portion, whereby an uninterrupted annular well is formed in the base portion for the insertion of an assembling tool and the flexing of the wall of the well into the well.

2. A spout of resilient material as claimed in claim 1, wherein the exterior of the base portion is arranged with an annular enlargement at the open end of the base portion, a reduced annular section at the opposite end of the base portion, and a section connecting the enlargement and the reduced section and normally of bulbous formation of larger diameter than the reduced section and flexible into the well.

3. A spout of resilient material as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portion of the outer side wall of the well adjacent to the bottom wall of the base portion is of less thickness than the portion of said side wall adjacent to the open end of the base portion and the bottom wall of the base portion to facilitate the flexing of said portion of the outer side wall of the well into the well.

4. In combination with a container of rigid material having a neck in the top wall and said neck including an inwardly constricted throat portion, and a spout of resilient material comprising a cup-shaped base portion having a bottom section positioned below the constricted throat portion of the container neck, an intermediate section flexed around the constricted throat portion of the container neck to form a liquid-tight seal and a top section positioned above the constricted throat portion of the container neck, the intermediate section of the spout base portion being thinner than the walls of the top and bottom sections of the spout base portion, and a tubular portion connected to the bottom section of the spout base portion and extended beyond the top section of the spout base portion with the tubular portion spaced from the inner side wall of the spout base portion to form an annular well in the 'spout base portion to accommodate the flexing of the intermediate section of the spout base References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 496,246 Campbell Apr. 25, 1893 6 Schubert Dec. 27, 1927 Miller Aug. 31, 1954 Nyden Dec. 20, 1955 Opsitnik June 12, 1956 Nyden Sept. 11, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 3, 1931 

